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Do McLaren Face the Truth of F1 - That to Win, It's Not Always Possible to Play Fair?

McLaren are fully conscious of the challenge they confront with Max Verstappen and the Red Bull team in the drivers' championship this season, but they see no reason to alter their approach to managing the team.

They will persist to provide both drivers the optimal opportunity they can and run the team on a foundation of fairness and balance.

"This represents the manner we intend racing. This remains the philosophy in which we approach competition, and we aim to stay equitable, and we want to apply equal treatment to our drivers."

Team boss Andrea Stella is a veteran of many title battles. He won the championship as engineer to Kimi Raikkonen in 2007 when the Ferrari racer recovered seventeen points under the old scoring system in two races to secure the championship, while McLaren collapsed.

And he lost the championship as engineer to Fernando Alonso in the 2010 season, when the Ferrari team messed up their race strategy at the final race of the championship and allowed Vettel and Red Bull to sneak the title from under their noses.

Stella stated following the race in Austin: "We view the remaining five Grands Prix as opportunities to extend the lead on Max. And when it involves having to make a decision as to a team driver, this will only be determined by the numbers."

"We lean on the past experience. I can recall at least the 2007 season, 2010, in which you go to the final Grand Prix and it's actually the [driver in] third [place] that wins the championship. So we're not going to close the door unless this is closed by the calculations."

What Prompted McLaren to Stop Development on The Current Car?

Every team this season have had to confront the dilemma of how long to concentrate on their 2025 car while also making sure they are as ready as they can be for the major regulation change coming for the 2026 season.

In F1, it's usually the case that if a team makes mistakes at the beginning of a new regulation period, it can take a considerable period to recover. And if they get it right, that benefit can last for a while - look at the Red Bull team in 2022 and 2023, the most recent occasion the regulations were modified.

The McLaren team started this year with the fastest car, after putting a lot of innovation into their 2025 design.

They continued to develop it for a period, but were experiencing reduced benefits. So when looking at the value for money they were getting on their 2025 season car versus the 2026 car, it became an straightforward decision to switch focus to next year.

The Red Bull team have caught up since introducing their new floor and nose section at the Italian Grand Prix, but the McLaren stays competitive - team principal Andrea Stella stated he believed Lando Norris had the speed to challenge for the victory in Texas had he not ended up behind Leclerc.

"We must keep maximising the car performance and continue executing strong race weekends. And from this point of view, if you think of a race like Baku City Circuit, we didn't maximise the performance and we didn't execute a flawless race."

"So definitely we have a large chance, and the result of this championship and the driver's title is in our control. It's not placed in someone else's hands."

Team Changes: How Challenging Is It to Switch Teams?

Initially, I'm not sure the question has an entirely accurate basis. It's true that both Lewis Hamilton and Sainz had slightly difficult opening phases of the championship, in different ways, and that they are currently faring significantly improved.

Sainz and Alex Albon currently appear quite balanced. However, it's not so clear that, in Lewis Hamilton's case, he is yet the "equal" of Charles Leclerc - or not regularly, anyway.

Lewis Hamilton has not beaten Leclerc very often at all this year, either in qualifying sessions or Grand Prix.

He is now significantly nearer than he previously. He is consistently qualifying within a few hundredths of a second of his teammate, but in qualifying it's four-two to Leclerc since the summer break.

This last weekend in Austin, on one of Lewis Hamilton's favourite tracks, he was a full second slower than Leclerc when the Monegasque made his pit stop, and lost 13 seconds over the remaining portion of the Grand Prix.

Looking back, Charles Leclerc was on the optimal strategy. Nevertheless, over the season, and even now, it's hard to argue that on average Leclerc has not been the superior Ferrari driver this season.

Both Hamilton and Carlos Sainz have discussed how difficult it is to switch teams, and we have to accept their statements.

Lewis Hamilton would not claim even currently that he was fully adapted to Ferrari - and he is hoping the regulation changes next year will benefit his driving style; he has never really enjoyed these ground-effect vehicles.

There is a lot for a driver to get their head around when they change constructors, as Hamilton has explained many times this year. But not all struggle in this manner.

Fernando Alonso, for example, was performing well from the start of the 2023 season when he moved to the Aston Martin team. And would Max Verstappen face challenges if he changed constructors? I believe the majority in Formula 1 would anticipate he wouldn't.

How Soon Can We Determine Next Year's Competitive Order?

Until the cars run for the initial time in pre-season testing next year, no-one will understand how the constructors are looking next year.

The first test, in Catalunya on 26-30 January, is behind closed doors because the teams wanted to get their heads around their first running of the new engines without the scrutiny of the press.

So the two tests in Bahrain on February 11-13 and 18-20 February will be the first time some kind of sense of comparative speed becomes apparent.

But, as always, it's only at the first race that the true and accurate picture will become clear.